CLASS SERIES

Principles of Teaching Somatics through the Lens of Holistic Dance 

with Sabine Parzer, MSME 

Six Tuesdays, bi-weekly April 14-June 23, 2026 • 5-7:30pm CET; 11am-1:30pm EDT 

Find your local time here. 

 Live participation is strongly encouraged. However, if you are unable to attend a session, the recordings will be available to all who have registered for the course. 

DESCRIPTION:

What is the difference between a good mover and a good teacher? Pedagogy. Pedagogy is the Art of Teaching, it is a craft that can make a huge difference in the way content is delivered, the student-teacher relationship unfolds and how skills can develop. Most practitioners stumble into teaching, because they need to make a living. They pass on what they have been taught by their teachers, what feels good in their bodies, the exercises that work for them. But there is more to teaching movement, dance and somatics than just lecturing, demonstrating and being a stunning example yourself. Through the lens of Holistic Dance - a blend of improvisational dance, authentic movement, contact improvisation and somatics (elements of Feldenkrais and visionary cranial sacral work) - I will share the pedagogy that I have found to be useful in the application for many different contexts and populations.  In this 6-session format, we will engage in movement explorations, some hands-on practices (will be announced ahead of time to organize a live partner in session), lectures, study assignments for in between, and teaching labs. 

In this class series, we will also focus on how to share our professional content in a way that our students learn best. How do students move into a learning zone, rather than a stress zone, how do we empower our students to really strive, rather than just copy us and how can we lead with clarity, while being neither authoritative nor egocentric? Especially in the work with developmental movement and touch, issues of trauma activation, touch triggers, consent, unconscious projections onto other participants and onto the teacher and emotional safety, require skills to be able to create and hold a safe(r) container.   

Participants will learn to:
• Set up a safe(r) environment for learning
• Develop an organic authority
• Shape the flow of a class/ workshop
• Improvise as a teacher (Prepare and let go of content)
• Receive and give feedback
• Deal with wonderful and difficult participants
• Recognize trauma activation and hold space for it
• Regulate their energy during class/ workshop 

Sabine Parzer (AT), B.A., MSME 

Sabine Parzer is head and founder of the Holistic Dance Institute. She is an ISMETA Master Somatic Movement Educator. The Holistic Dance Institute is an ISMETA Approved Training Program and offers professional and advanced Teachers Trainings. In 2012, Sabine co-created the Contact Festival Austria, and she was the artistic director until 2017. Her professional experience spans 35 years of teaching, performing, choreographing and researching in the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, Israel and Brazil.  

Sabine has a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College Chicago in Modern Dance, and an education in Systemischeund Integrative Bewegungslehre® (a Feldenkrais® Training). The in-depth practice of Contact Improvisation and Authentic Movement begins 1997. Ongoing trainings since 1995 in Kleintechnique, ZenBodytherapy®, Yoga, White Crane Silat, Rosen Method®, Kashmirian Massage, family constellations and Integrative Somatic Traumatherapy a.o. She is currently studying visionary Cranialsacral Work with Hugh Milne. Sabine is a dancer, choreographer, dance-pedagogue, bodyworker, organizer and author. In her Holistic Dance Institute, people from all different backgrounds, including dancers, artists, bodyworkers, social workers, coaches and psychotherapists are trained in Holistic Dance Teachers Trainings, Advanced Teachers Trainings, Retreats, open workshops and single sessions.  

Her professional dance career began in Chicago, IL, in 1990, where she danced professionally in Mordine & Company Dance Theatre and many independent productions. She was co-founder of Loop Troop and has presented her choreographies and improvisational scores since 1990 in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Moscow and Vienna, amongst other cities. She recently collaborated with filmmaker Krisztina Kerekes on the experimental dance film “eMBODYMe” and the documentation about her work “Interconnections”. Her latest solo “Mayya Amore” premiered in 2024. 

Sabine teaches regularly at international dance festivals such as Impulstanz Vienna, Tanzfabrik Berlin, TanzquartierWien, Potsdamer Tanztage and has taught intensives at many international festivals such as Israeli Contact Festival, Moscow Contact Festival, Kontakt Budapest, Contact in Rio de Janeiro, Osterimprofestival Göttingen, Ibiza Contact Festival and more. Between 1999 and 2013 she was employed as dance therapist at a rehabilitation center for people after work and traffic accidents in Austria. 

Sabine is considered to be a pioneer in the somatic and healing dance field and is highly regarded for her humorous, down-to-earth approach in her teachings.  

Resources:
Website https://www.holistic-dance.at/?lang=en
Film eMBODYME: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5w-QWq1vM&t=21s
Film Interconnections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZMz7x5LJ1g
Podcast Good Choices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoA7xjIMCIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_nPiGYpfk&t=49s 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C8qACFKRxI&t=1s
Embodiment Conference 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQQENSMQJn4 

Course Information

PLEASE NOTE: Receive a COUPON CODE for a $50 discount on the Full Course by registering for the Free Introduction!  

There are many ways to join ISMETA if you aren’t already a Student, Friend, or Professional Member of ISMETA, so you can easily take advantage of member discounts. 

Cancellation Policy:
If a participant cancels their registration to any paid offering in the Professional Development Center, they will receive the following refund:
Full refund minus the PayPal fees, more than 4 weeks before the event begins
75% refund from 1 - 4 weeks before the event begins
50% refund from 1 - 6 days before the event begins
No refund on the day that the event begins or while it is in progress ISMETA reserves the right to cancel any offering in the Professional Development Center before the course begins due to unforeseen circumstances. In this case, a full refund will be given.